Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Secret Zagreb Walks!

Secret Zagreb Walks is company that offers unusual guided tours through Zagreb.

If you like horror stories, ghost stories, witches, secret and ocult societies, killers, strange and weird customs... No? Oh, nevermind. You certainly love dragons, gryphons and other monsters. No? And what about 19th century? Do you want to know how citizens of Zagreb future would look like? How did Zagreb looked like in Victorian times? Crackpot inventors, genious and skillful artisans... Steampunk is not your cup of tea? Oh, you come to Zagreb in November, your favourite season is winter and book is A Christmas Carol by Dickens! Whatever you like of these things, you can find them in guided tours offered by Secret Zagreb Walks.

Today is Secret Zagreb Walks' second birthday and throughout this week they offer discounted coupon for private guided tours of Zagreb (1-4 persons). Birthday coupons are valid for a year - until the next birthday.

For more info you can contact Secret Zagreb Walks at this link.

Sretan rođendan!

Sretan rođendan, Secret Zagreb Walks!

Secret Zagreb Walks je tvrtka koja nudi neuobičajene turističke obilaske Zagreba. Volite hororce, priče o duhovima, ubojstvima, vješticama, okultnim društvima i čudnim običajima? A zmajeve, grifone i ostala čudovišta? Onda nešto modernije? Recimo... Kako su Zagrepčani zamišljali budućnost u 19. st., luckasti izumitelji, vrsni majstori? Steampunk? Dolazite u Zagreb u Studenom? Zima vam je najdraže godišnje doba, a najdraža knjiga Dickensova Božićna Priča? Što god od toga vam se sviđa, baš takve obilaske nudi Secret Zagreb Walks.
Povodom svog drugog rođendana nude popust na kupon za privatni razgled Zagreba (1-4 osobe). Ne, ne morate odmah dogovoriti obilazak - kupon vrijedi do sljedećeg rođendana.
Za više informacija možete škljocnuti mišem na ovaj link, ili kontaktirati direktno Secret Zagreb Walks ovim linkom.

Game of Thrones and Croatia

Devon Soltendieck appears in beautiful video about Dubrovnik and Split being hosts to TV show Game of Thrones. Now, for the fifth season of Game of Thrones, there are even more places that served as locations from the Game of Thrones world.
Enjoy the video.
Oh, and think about it: donuts as appetizers.

P. S.
Check out Devon's profile picture on Twitter. Guess where in Seven Kingdoms is he https://twitter.com/dsoltendieck

I Will Wait by Two Cellos

Turn on HD and full screen. Enjoy.
Rivendell? No. Croatia. Plitvice Lakes.
CGI? No. Croatia. Plitvice Lakes.

Cavtat. Beware! Here be dragons!

I would like to dedicate to friar Ilar Lukšić, dragon-hunter's namesake. He was my dear friend and teacher, who showed me that Latin language isn't difficult or boring. Gratias tibi ago frater Hilarion.

During the last stroll, I skipped one very interesting location - Šipun cave. According to legend, in the cave lived dragon named Voaz, who oppressed people of Cavtat and Konavle. So what happened that they are not oppresed any more?

I will not start this story in Cavtat, but in Močići village in some other cave. Cave called Tomina glavica.
In that shallow cave there is a mithraeum, shrine to Mithras cult, which spread through the Roman Empire from the first to the fourth century.

Mithraeum

We don't know much about this cult today, because not much of written word survived about it. The cult is only briefly mentioned in literature of those days. Nevertheless, the link between Mithras and sun worship can be seen in this shrine. In the mornings, when the sun starts to peek behind Konevle mountains, sunrays break through the foliage of young oaks and shine relief above the cave.

Mithras kills a bull. Under the bull there are scorpio and snake. Beside, two preasts are standing
and in the upper left corner we can see rays of sun, which broke during centuries past.

According to friar Ilar Lukšić, in that very cave, between 362 AD and 366 AD, lived saint Ilar (Hilarion). Legends about him survived for centuries in folk lore. The legend in which we are concerned cannot be found in Glagolitic writings (in Croatia glagolitic script has been in use form 9th to 19th century), but saint Jerome wrote it down in the 39th chapter of his hagiography of saint Hilarion, written about 20 years after st. Hilarion's death.
I am going to tell you the story as I was told by friar Ilar in 2000.
Long ago, Cavtat and Konavle were harrased by a huge dragon. He lived in Šipun cave and devoured children, women, men and cattle. He was so big that he could swallow in one bite his favourite prey - an ox. Therefore he was named Voaz (vol - croatian for ox).
One day, in Konavle came saint Hilarion, seeking solitude. But people heard of his arrival and asked him if he could help against the terrible Voaz. Saint Hilarion decided to help them.
Saint Hilarion didn't go against the dragon as saint George did - armed on his horse, but as a humble hermit he went on foot, taking with him his friend donkey.

When I followed the path that st. Hilarion might have taken, I took with me a fourlegged friend, too - Grace.

When Hilarion came to Voaz, he found him asleep as he had eaten people and cattle. So st. Hilarion took the dragon's tail and tied it to his donkey. They pulled the dragon across the sea to village of Mlini. There he told people to make a huge pyre. But Voaz was so big that they couldn't put him on that pyre.

While walking down the Blue path, following steps of st. Hilarion, you might encounter this boy. But don't be afraid. That's no snake or Voaz's offspring. It's just harmless sheltopusik

So st. Hilarion fell to his knees and prayed. God answered his prayer and ordered Voaz to climb the pyre by himself. Then Hilarion lit the pyre and so, Voaz was burned. At that very place, people later built church of st. Hilarion. Even to this day you can sometimes see the mark on the sea surface where st. Hilarion and his donkey dragged Voaz.

Path that st. Hilarion might took to reach Voaz

Voaz's lair, Šipun cave, was mentioned for the first time in the year 78 in "Naturalis Historia" by Pliny the Elder, and it was in 1963. when it was declared geomorphological nature monument. The 120m long cave descends 32 m in depth. Although tourists visit cave from the 19th century, it is closed to the public today. Maybe it is better that way, because the cave with its little lake, which is at the bottom salty and at the surface freshwater, forms a sensitive ecosystem.

The entrance to Šipun cave

If you decide to take a walk by the part of the Blue path which st. Hilarion might have used to catch the dragon, you can see specific information about the distances and heights on my case, with few important notes: I went from Močići to Cavtat, which is downhill. If I went from Cavtat to Močići it would have take about an hour. Most of the path is exposed to the sun, so it would be good to avoid walking it when the sun is strongest (11:00-16:00). Also be aware that clouds can be quite misleading and create the impression that the sun isn't so strong. Even though path is not too hard or dangerous to walk, be sure to use appropriate shoes (NO: flip-flops, sandals, crocks etc.). Take also a hat or a cap, enough liquid (at least 1 l) and a sunscreen.

These are your friends.
Liquid, appropriate shoes, hat and sunscreen.

If you find yourself by chance or on purpose in Zagreb, and you're interested into dragons and reptiles, Secret Zagreb Walks can discover you the secrets of Zagreb dragons.

Pazi! Oštar zmaj u Cavtatu!

Ovaj post bih posvetio fra. Ilaru Lukšiću, zmajolovčevom imenjaku, prijatelju i učitelju, koji mi je pokazao kako latinski nije ni toliko težak, ni dosadan. Gratias tibi ago frater Hilarion.

U prošloj šetnji sam preskočio jednu zanimljivu lokaciju - špilju Šipun.

Prema legendi, u toj špilji je živio zmaj Voaz, tlačeći Cavtaćane i Konavljane. Zašto ih više ne tlači?

Priču nećemo početi u Cavtatu, već u Močićima, u jednoj drugoj špilji, Tominoj glavici.

U toj plitkoj špilji je smješten mitrej, svetište kulta Mitre koji se širio Rimskim carstvom od 1. do 4. stoljeća.

Mitrino svetište

Danas ne znamo puno o tom kultu, jer je o njemu ostavljeno vrlo malo pisane riječi. Uglavnom se tek spominje. Njegova povezanost sa štovanjem sunca se može vidjeti i u ovom svetištu. Kad ujutro izviri sunce iza konavoskih planina, probiju se njegove zrake kroz lišće mladih hrastova i obasjaju reljef iznad špilje.

Mitra ubija bika ispod kojeg su škorpija i zmija. Sa strane stoje dva svećenika, a u gornjem lijevom kutu se vide zrake sunca, koje se kroz stoljeća odlomilo

U toj špilji je, prema fra Ilaru Lukšiću, negdje između 362. i 366. godine živio pustinjak sv. Ilar. Legende o njemu su kroz stoljeća preživjele u narodnim predajama. Ona koja nas zanima nije pronađena u glagoljaškim zapisima, ali ju je zapisao sveti Jeronim (u 39. poglavlju) dvadesetak godina nakon njegove smrti.

Prenijet ću vam je u verziji koju mi je 2000. god. ispričao fra. Ilar.

Nekoć je Cavtat i Konavle morio veliki zmaj. Živio je u Šipunu, a proždirao je djecu, žene, muškarce i stoku. Bio je toliko velik da je u jednom zalogaju mogao progutati svoj najdraži plijen - vola. Stoga mu nadjenu ime Voaz.

Jednog dana u Konavle dođe sveti Ilar tražeći samoću, ali narod ču za njegov dolazak i krene ga moliti za pomoć protiv strašnog Voaza. Sveti Ilar im odluči pomoći.

Nije krenuo na zmaja kao sveti Juraj, naoružan na konju, već kao ponizan pustinjak krene pješice i povede sa sobom svoga prijatelja magarca.

Kad sam odlučio proći putem kojim je možda prošao sv. Ilar,
poveo sam i ja svog četveronožnog prijatelja - Grace.

Kad je Ilar došao do Voaza, nađe ga da spava - baš se bio nažderao čeljadi i stoke. Uzme ga sveti Ilar za rep i zaveže za magarca, pa povuče zmaja preko mora do Mlina. Tamo uputi ljude da naslažu drva za velik oganj, ali Voaza nije mogao staviti na lomaču, jer je bio to velik zmaj.

Ako pođete Plavom stazom stopama sv. Ilara, možda naiđete na ovog momka.
Ne bojte se. Niti je zmija, niti Voazovo mlado. Tek bezopasni blavor.

Padne tada sveti Ilar na koljena i krene se moliti Bogu. Bog ga usliša i naredi Voazu da se sam popne na lomaču. Tada Ilar zapali pod njim vatru i Voaz izgori. Poslije su na tom mjestu podigli crkvu sv. Ilara. Katkad i dan-danas možeš vidjeti trag po moru kuda je sveti Ilar vukao zmaja.

Put kojim je možda sv. Ilar hodao kako bi došao do Voaza

Voazova jazbina, špilja Šipun, prvi put je spomenuta oko 78. god. u "Naturalis historia" Plinija Starijeg, a 1963. proglašena je geomorfološkim spomenikom prirode. 120 m duga špilja se spušta 32 m u dubinu. Iako je turisti posjećuju već od 19. st., danas je zatvorena za javnost. Možda je bolje tako, jer špilja sa svojim jezercem koje je pri dnu slano, a pri površini slatkovodno, tvori osjetljiv ekološki sistem.

Ulaz u špilju Šipun

  

Ako se odlučite prošetati dijelom Plave staze kojim je možda prošao sveti Ilar kako bi ulovio zmaja, konkretne podatke o udaljenostima i visinama možete vidjeti na mom primjeru, uz par napomena: išao sam od Močića prema Cavtatu, dakle nizbrdo. Od Cavtata do Močića će vam trebati oko sat vremena. Veći dio staze je izložen suncu, tako da je dobro izbjegavati vrijeme kad je sunce najjače (od 11 do 16 sati). Katkada oblaci znaju prevariti i stvoriti dojam kako sunce nije jako. Iako staza nije prezahtjevna, niti opasna, ponesite prikladnu obuću jer se radi o stazi kroz krško područje (NE: japanke, natikače, kroksice, sandale...), šešir ili kapu, dovoljno tekućine (najmanje litru), kremu za sunčanje.

Ovo su vaši prijatelji.
Tekućina, prikladna obuća, šešir, krema za sunčanje.

Nađete li se kojim slučajem u Zagrebu, a zanimaju vas zmajevi i slični reptili, možete uz Secret Zagreb Walks otkriti tajne zagrebačkih zmajeva.

The Seagull of Cavtat

You walk down the Cavtat boardwalk in the afternoon... As you reach the end of the boardwalk, sun closes to horizon. This is the best time of day for stroll around Rat peninsula. But can you make it to other side of the peninsula with sun still being above horizon? How long does that stroll take? Do you have time for a swim in sea by Kamen Mali? In order to provide you with the best answers to these (and maybe other) questions, I took the stroll around Rat.

Little stroll around Rat

The easy stroll takes about thirty minutes. I am sure that you noticed that detour near the top of peninsula. It looks as I made wrong turn and came back on right track... I am going to write about that later. But first things first. The title.

There is one special seagull on Rat. The seagull is allways by the path and goes nowhere. It spred wings as in flight and stands there. You have to be very careful in order not to miss it!

Some say that the seagull appeared by chance as stone was broken. Other say that it is carved in stone by someone. Whether coincidence or not, the nearby islands Mrkan, Bobara and Supetar is ornithological reserve where caspian gull nests. Under the photo I marked GPS position to help you find it.

42.58584605555556,18.21147138888889

Now, back to that detour I made.

On that spot there is a building from the first century which might be Roman villa. Archaeological investigations carried out from 1984. to 1987. revealed that the building was used until late antiquity. It seems that the archaeological site is slowly being forgotten after 1987 because now you can feel like a true Indiana Jones, while treading through tall grass and weeds as you search for the remains of the Roman villa. You just have to stride very carefully so as not to fall into old Roman cistern and hurt yourself.

Indiana Jones in Cavtat

I suggest you to slowly continue your stroll around peninsula until you come to Cavtat again. There are few more things to see on this small peninsula. But... Soon's going to be dark. I'm not a coward! Just.. Even the bravest one are more comfortable visiting that place during daylight! No, I'm not talking about cemetery. By the way, it's too late. 22:32. I am afraid even to mention it. I'll write about ut next time...